Five times Mordred tried to get Merlin's attention
by Eliza-Lou-Riley
Summary: Five times Mordred behaved like an animal to get Merlin's attention. And the one time it made Merlin smile. WARNING: May leave you questioning Mordred's sanity. Or your own.


**~ Five times Mordred behaved like an animal to get Merlin's attention. And the one time it made Merlin smile.**

* * *

** 1. Turtle**

"Emrys…"

Merlin continued reading.

"Emrys…"

The warlock flinched slightly, took a deep breath then continued to read without looking up.

"Emrys, I _know_ you hear me."

Merlin growled, "What is it Mordred?"

"Look at this."

Merlin wondered if he should bother turning his head to see what the druid was doing. But the odd scratching noises behind him caught his attention and soon curiosity won over pride.

"Mordred, what _are_ you doing?"

Mordred grinned at him, and continued crawling along the floor with the wicker basket on his back.

"I'm being a turtle!"

Merlin watched him as he continued to slide across the floorboards, making little clicking noises as he went.

Either Kilgharrah was soft in the head or Arthur's bane had turned out to be a total numpty.

* * *

**2. Kitten**

"Er, Merlin…" Gwaine leaned over to mutter to the servant, "What is Mordred doing?"

"Being a cat apparently." Merlin said, watching as the druid began to swat at a loose bit of thread from Leon's cape.

"…He's a very…_excitable_ little fellow isn't he?"

"That's one word for him."

"Mew."

Merlin sighed as the druid boy crawled over to him and carefully perched himself up on his lap.

"What's that weird noise he's making?"

"I believe that's _purring_." Merlin replied, as Mordred gently nuzzled against his chest.

"Mew."

"No Mordred, I haven't got any milk."

Mordred hissed at him.

"There's no point getting grumpy with me, it's the truth."

"Mew."

"Hmm, well, I suppose I could find some water somewhere…"

"Wait, wait, wait." Gwaine held up his hands, "You can _understand_ him?"

Merlin blushed, "Well, er-"

"Mew."

"_Alright_ Mordred, but only for a few minutes." He began tickling under the druid's chin.

Gwaine shook his head, snorting with laughter as Mordred grew bored after a while, hopped off Merlin's lap and began stalking an invisible mouse, "Incredible…"

"It's not funny," Merlin snapped, "He's become a real nuisance. I can't understand how Arthur made him a knight of Camelot in the first place. He's the most immature, childish, hyper-active – Mordred, don't scratch the furniture! I just polished it!"

* * *

**3. Bunny**

"Squeak…squeak…"

"I swear, he is the cutest thing ever…" Leon stated, as he and Merlin watched Mordred hopping around the training field, stopping every now and then to twitch his nose and scratch behind his ears.

"Hmm." Merlin muttered, "I can see he has the makings of a _great_ knight."

"I thought he was a very reserved fellow. Couldn't have been more wrong."

"What's he doing now?"

"I'm not sure…wait, I think he's…Mordred! Don't eat the grass! You'll get sick! _Mordred!_"

* * *

**4. Wolf**

"Merlin,_ please_ let Mordred in." Arthur muttered, hands plastered over his ears.

"No way. He followed me around all day making that noise. I need a break."

"Merlin, one of my knights is sitting outside my chamber door _howling_ because he wants in. Kindly let him in before he creates a scene."

"He's created one already."

"_Mer_-lin!"

Growling in frustration, the servant dragged his feet over to the door; as soon as he opened it the druid boy came crawling in and started rubbing his cheeks against his legs.

"What is he _doing_?" Arthur raised his eyebrows with slight worry as Mordred hopped onto his bed, rolled once, fell off the other side and started howling again in mock pain.

"Being a wolf, it would seem." Merlin said, as Mordred made an enemy with his own reflection in Arthur's mirror and spent the next thirty minutes growling at himself.

* * *

**5.** **Squirrel **

"Merlin, why are there acorns all over my floor?" Gaius asked in a bemused tone.

"Mordred's collecting." Merlin muttered, "He insists on picking up every acorn he sees. Apparently he's storing them for winter."

"That boy has a very odd way of doing things."

"Tell me about it."

There was a sudden scratching at the door.

"Oh, there he is now."

He opened the door and found the druid squatted on his knees, clicking his teeth, hands curled to imitate paws.

"This should last you six months." The warlock handed him a sack full of acorns, "Just don't give yourself indigestion."

Mordred clicked his teeth once and scurried away.

* * *

**1. Dog**

"Arf, arf."

"Yes Mordred, that's very clever." Merlin said, as the druid demonstrated how to beg in human form by propping his arms up and pretending to whine. He continued to pant and hop around Merlin's legs until the warlock grew bored of trying to ignore him and instead stooped down to tickle his tummy again. He was still unsure of how this child could possibly be the future death of Arthur – he was such an irritating dope, it seemed almost impossible.

"Why do you do it?" The warlock questioned, as the druid started to chase his invisible tail thoughtfully, "I mean, don't you have a reputation to uphold?"

"Woof."

"I thought as much."

He continued rubbing Mordred's tummy and then carefully sat himself down in a nearby chair to ease his aching bones; Arthur's armour was getting heavier as the days went on and he needed a rest. He closed his eyes and suddenly all the breath was stolen from him as Mordred flopped all his weight onto the warlock's lap and lay there, nose pressed into Merlin's neck.

It was cute, in some sense.

"You're an odd fellow, you know that?"

"Woof!"

"Really odd. Anyone would think that you were trying..." Merlin paused, and suddenly his face flushed pink, "You were doing this to get my attention...weren't you?"

Mordred smiled, "I knew you'd figure it out eventually, Emrys."

Too tired to be angry, Merlin sighed and began gently stroking the druid's hair, chuckling as a tongue poked out and rolled across his hand. For the first time, Mordred's weird behaviour actually made him smile.

"That's a good boy."


End file.
